Banyan Tree to Run Singapore Rainforest Resort

STR reported Chinese hotel data for the week ended May 4th. Hotel RevPAR in China was up 8%. That was positive as it was up against a very tough +140.9% year over year comp in 2023. STR was occupancy for China hotels for the week was up 11.7% year over year.

Beijing, China saw a record 16.97 million tourists during the May Day holiday. That was up 9.4% over last year and Beijing reportedly generated about 19.62 billion yuan (US$2.7 billion) in revenue, up 10.2% from last year. Rural tourism saw a remarkable uptick with a 22.9% increase in visitors compared with the previous year. That brought in 340 million yuan on its own, up 24.3% from last year.

The Tourism Minister of Maldives asked, actually begged, Indians to be a part of their tourism, trying to mend fences. Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal said the country’s economy depends on Indians coming back to visit and that the newly elected government aspires to collaborate with India. India residents boycotted the Maldives following disparaging remarks made about India and the country’s Prime Minister. Instead of quickly apologizing, the Maldives threw out some ridiculous tourism figures, making it look like they did not need India’s visitation when we all knew they did. The Tourism Minister is trying to assure India that their people and government will give a warm welcome to Indian arrivals. If this doesn’t work, they can always just subsidize trips by Indians to let them see what they are missing. Nothing repairs hurt feelings like a free trip somewhere.

The Mandai Rainforest Resort, an eco-resort, is set to open in the first half of 2025 in Mandai, Singapore. The resort will be operated by Banyan Tree, located in the middle of five wildlife parks – the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and the upcoming Rainforest Wild, according to the Mandai Wildlife Group. The resort will have 34 treehouses set among the foliage and 338 rooms in total. The resort was initially supposed to open in 2023 but delays brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic pushed back the opening date. Other areas of the Mandai precinct like the Bird Paradise, also were affected. The new resort overlooking Upper Seletar Reservoir sits on a 4.6ha site, comprising a four-story building with standard and family rooms as well as facilities such as a ballroom and meeting rooms, a gym and rooftop swimming pool. It will also house a specialty restaurant as well as all-day dining. The 24 elevated seed pod-shaped treehouses are set within the existing vegetation, treelines and natural topography of the area, some with a view of the reservoir.

Landmark Sydney, Australia pub the Coogee Bay Hotel will undergo a multi-million dollar makeover after the amended plans were approved by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel. The approval follows more than four years of design and planning, discussions with stakeholders, community consultation and mediation between the owners and Randwick City Council. The deferred commencement consent will become operational once there has been a resolution of a noise management plan with the Randwick City Council. The approval includes the demolition of buildings and works to the Coogee Bay Hotel itself, comprising refurbishment to provide for 18 hotel rooms as well as a three-story building to the southern side of the beer garden with 13 new hotel rooms. This will result in a total of 31 hotel rooms. Also planned is the construction of a 5-6 story shoptop residential block of 58 homes, 11 retail premises, an internal laneway from Coogee Bay Road, basement parking for 158 cars, subdivision, landscaping and associated works. The Urban Developer reported the value of the works at $111 million. The proposal is expected to enhance the heritage elements of the hotel building, upgrade its accommodation offering, create a wider range of entertainment, dining options and public meeting spaces, and create a more family-friendly environment. This has been in the works since first being proposed and met with opposition in July of 2021.

Construction has officially begun on the $60 million Hotel Panorama along Goodwood Road by the Hurley Hotel Group. The Panorama, Australia hotel is expected to be completed in early 2026. The five-story property will include a casual café bar and restaurant with a cozy sunken fire lounge, gaming room and lively sports bar on the ground floor. The hotel will feature three levels of accommodation comprising 77 rooms including 26 serviced apartments. The accommodation options will range from one to two-bedroom suites, with a special honeymoon suite available. Hurley Hotel Group said this is the largest investment in the history of the family business. Other amenities will include a rooftop bar on the fifth level which will include multiple function spaces and an expansive outdoor area beneath the gum trees, featuring a large three-meter outdoor screen.

Tokyo Disney Resort owner Oriental Land showed off a new luxury hotel with a nightly rate of 341,000 yen to journalists. The Fantasy Springs Hotel sits inside Tokyo DisneySea, one of the resort’s two theme parks. It will open June 6 with the park’s Fantasy Springs area. This is the company’s sixth Disney hotel. The hotel consists of two buildings with different nightly price ranges. The Fantasy Chateau has rooms starting at 66,000 yen and the Grand Chateau, whose rooms start at 341,000 yen – the company’s most expensive offerings. Grand Chateau rooms have an interior area of 70 square meters or larger with separate living rooms and bedrooms, all offering balcony views of Fantasy Springs.

Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide unveiled Seibu Prince Global Rewards, a new loyalty program. This replaces their existing membership programs – Seibu Prince Club emi, StayWell Rewards and Prince Preferred.

The family of the late Tang Shing Bor has recently sold the Hotel Ease Access – Lai Chi Kok in Cheung Sha Wan in Hong Kong for HK$220 million. The hotel was initially put on the market for sale in June 2023 with an asking price of HK$410 million. The hotel was formerly a 21 story commercial building, built in 1997. In 2022 it underwent a comprehensive renovation to transform it into a modern hotel. The property covers an area of 3,540 square feet and offers 119 guest rooms along with three private car parking spaces and a loading and unloading facility for goods.

Spanish hotel group Melia Hotels International announced the Grand Luang Prabang will be the first hotel in Laos to join Melia’s growing presence in the region. The hotel is the one-time palace of a Lao prince. It will undergo a 12-month rebranding and renovation process to become the first member of the Melia Collection in Southeast Asia. The Grand Luang Prabang is situated on the riverside in Luang Prabang and has 75 rooms spread out over eight buildings, comprising a 1920-built palace and a collection of annexes. The property features an expansive swimming pool in the gardens.

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